Chapter 17
Alexander
I look up at her, loving the lust I see swirling in the depths of her blue eyes. I may be fucking livid and thirsting for blood but the feeling of her hot cunt pressed against my hard cock is the only thing keeping me in this seat and not scouring the city for that little bitch and ripping him apart. I stroke my thumbs along the tops of her thighs, knowing exactly what I’m doing, she’ll spill more than she wants to because she’s so distracted by how much she wants me to relieve her of the ache I’ve caused between her thighs. I’ll be all too happy to let her ride my face as soon as she tells me what I need to know, then I’ll reward her and make her beg me for her next orgasm.
“He said I was supposed to distract you but I ruined his plan because…” She clamps her mouth closed. I press the pad of my thumb against her clit, she jolts and shoots me a glare.
“Answer me, Bambi or I make you come in front of them.” Her eyes widen and her jaw unhinges, knowing what's at stake. My brothers remain silent, allowing me to do whatever it takes to get us the intel we need. To drive my point home, I push her thong to the side and circle her clit, she gasps and tries to back away, but I lock my arm around her and hold her in place.
“Alex, stop,” she pleads.
“Not until you tell me, baby.” I apply more pressure and she shudders—I would never allow these fuckers to see her come but she doesn’t know that.
“He said I ruined their plan because I went and caught feelings for the Butcher,” she shouts, her declaration has me stilling as my brows leap to my hairline. “He said they knew you wouldn’t be able to resist me because I reminded you of her. He said you would fixate on me over time and you would grow sloppy and slip up. Apparently you did and now she knows everything.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I growl.
She sighs and looks out the window. When I see her bottom lip tremble, I grip her chin and force her gaze back to me. The sight of unshed tears I see has me dropping my hold on her and staring at her in horror as dread begins to fill me.
“He knew about you and the De Santis family,” she whispers. “He said he knew who your sister was and it was all a game and I was just caught in the middle.” I turn cold and grow rigid. “I asked him if he killed her and all he could say was it was a condition of them working together. I told him you would kill him. He said you can try but they’ll get you first. Can I go now?” I jerk in shock.
“What?” I snap.
Her eyes fill with rage as she stares down at me. “You didn’t have to do all of that to get me to tell you the truth, now let me out of this fucking car!” she screams at me and the guys all recoil. She begins fumbling around for the door handle. I try and grab her but she keeps hitting my arms away. When I finally have enough and grab her neck she blows my fucking mind when she slaps me across the face. “Don’t you ever fucking touch me again!” I release her instantly. She grabs the handle and shoves the door open, falling toward the ground. I’m not quick enough to get out and stop her fall. When I reach for her she backs away and shakes her head, the way she is looking at me right now scares the shit out of me.
“Bambi—”
“Shut up, Alex!” I snap my mouth closed. The guys climb out of the car and flank me. She looks between them and scoffs before focusing back on me. “He also told me that because I love him I would never let you go after him. He said my love for him is his greatest strength and my biggest weakness. The thing is, you are all wrong about me. He may be my brother and I would never be able to kill him, but that doesn't mean I would try to stop you after knowing what he did to your sister.”
“Alex, we’re sitting ducks here, we need to move,” Halo clips out but I ignore him.
The way she is looking at me right now fills my veins with ice. I had suspected she went through shit but I didn’t realize how bad until now.
“I’m sorry?—”
She cuts me off before I can continue. “Don’t be. I guess I did my job without even knowing it. I distracted you for him and got the proof you needed to carry out your plans. I want nothing to do with you, Nexus, or your crazy ass fucking ex.” Sadness fills her eyes and my heart pounds inside my chest. “Track my phone, Alex. I slipped it into Nexus’s hoodie pocket before he left.”
I step forward but she takes one back. “Tatum, I can’t let you go.”
She smiles sadly. “You lost me the moment you tried to use my body to get the answers you needed. Go win your war and slay your demons, Alex, then forget all about me.”
“I can’t do that,” I snap.
She shrugs. “Goodbye, Alex,” she whispers, then walks away. I try to go after her but Omen grabs my arm. I shove him back but he rushes forward and gets in my face.
“Go after him and I’ll go after her. You have my word I’ll keep her safe,” he snarls. I look from her retreating frame back to him and growl in frustration. I grab the front of his shirt and yank him to me.
“You fucking keep her safe and alive. Do you understand?”
He nods. “I know what she is to you. You have my word, brother.” I release him with a shove.
“Fuck, just go,” I roar. Omen nods then takes off after my girl. “Get in the fucking car. Halo, track her fucking phone now!” I roar as I punch the side of the car.
* * *
Calm has never been one of my strong suits nor is patience. Halo tracked her phone and sure enough it’s last location pinged at the De Santis mansion before it cut out. Sitting out front, knowing that the little cunt who ruined my life is behind those gates is the worst kind of torture. My mouth is watering at the thought of getting my hands on him and strapping him to my table as I drag out his last breath making sure to inflict as much pain as I can.
“We need to get our men released before we make a move,” Pope announces with an edge of darkness to his tone.
“I’m working on it,” Vat replies as he continues to type away frantically on his phone. My guess is he is filling our lawyers in—the same lawyers who got me freed from prison are now on our payroll.
The charges against them are fucking cooked. Desire could have come up with something better than bullshit unpaid tickets and a couple of them are said to have had warrants out for their arrest, which we all know is bullshit. Any of my guys with a record never fly with us, we leave them back in Denver to keep up with the shipments we get in so Damon can ship them out to our buyers.
“We can’t sit out here all night,” Halo declares, which just earns him a glare from me. Now is not the time for them to start telling me what to do, I’m hanging onto my sanity by a fucking thread after what happened with Tatum.
“Heads up,” Vat hisses. I look out the window and see a car exiting the gates, it's one of the blacked out Lincolns from earlier. Pope and Vatican slouch down in their seats in the front but when the car drives straight toward us I know who it is. I jump out and ignore their orders for me to get back in. I stand in the middle of the road. The Lincoln jams on the brakes at the last second, leaving an inch of space between me and it. I slam my hands flat against the hood. The driver’s door swings open and Carnage steps out.
“You have a fucking death wish?” he snarls.
I push off the car and stalk toward him, he doesn’t shift as I get right in his face. “Hand the cunt over and I give you my word I’ll end you quickly.”
The son of a bitch scoffs and steps back. “Get in the fucking car, Alex.” He doesn’t wait for a response as he climbs behind the wheel and slams the door closed. I look back to my guys and motion for them to follow us. Halo leaps out of the back and stalks toward me with a glare firmly in place.
“You may trust him but I don’t,” he spits out as he shoulders past me. I grit my teeth and jump in next to Carnage. I’ve barely closed the door before he plants his foot. I check the side mirror to make sure Vat is keeping pace with us. Given the fact that most of my men are in Denver and the ones I did have here with me are currently detained, we’re outnumbered.
“How’d she know I had men?” I ask as Carnage maneuvers us through the city.
“She knows a lot more than you think, like how you’re the one supplying the Vatel family with guns.” I fight not to smirk.
“How long has she known?”
“Since you got out of prison.”
My brow furrows. “Why did she start tracking me, Carnage?” He white knuckles the steering wheel. I look at him and the tight set of his shoulders and the way he’s working his jaw side to side tells me everything I need to know. “She ordered the death of my sister, didn’t she?” My tone is unwavering and firm.
Carnage takes a shuddering breath and pulls over in front of a hotel on the outskirts of town. He kills the engine then turns to face me. “I had no fucking idea until tonight when that little cocksucker walked through my fucking front door.” My breathing accelerates as I fight for control of my rage.
“She won’t survive this, can you handle that?” Halo speaks for the first time.
Carnage keeps his eyes on me as he answers his twin. “I gave you my word that I would deal with her if you were telling the truth and I stand by that.”
“I’m going to fucking rip her and that little cunt apart,” I vow. He exhales and nods.
“I know.”
“Why are you here?” Halo asks.
“Believe it or not, I do have a moral compass and what Des did is unforgivable. Ellie was innocent and didn’t deserve to become collateral damage in a war she had nothing to do with,” he answers.
“There was no fucking war! I bought our freedom from your fucking family!” I roar.
“No!” he snaps, meeting the intensity of my tone. “You bought yourself time before my sister came after you. You’re a fucking fool if you think for a second that she would ever let you go, you know her better than that.”
“His back is proof enough he paid the fucking price!” Halo spits.
Carnage stabs a hand through his hair and nods. “We need a plan. We have a max of two weeks before she throws everything she has at us.”
“ Us ?” Halo scoffs.
Carnage finally faces his twin and scowls at him. “Yes, us you little prick.”
Before these idiots can continue bickering I cut in. “Why the fuck are we here?” I ask.
Carnage flicks his gaze to the hotel behind me. “Go get your girl so we can get on a fucking plane and head back to Denver.” My eyes widen. Carnage just shakes his head. “You forget I know you, Butcher. I knew that would be the place where you hunker down because it was your sister's haven. Don’t worry, Desire has no idea where your homestead is, she only knows you stay in Colorado.”
“You’re not as smart as you think,” I force out.
“Yeah, whatever. Go get our girl, she’s closing down the airports and I don’t feel like driving all the way back to your house so get out.” He reclines his chair, forcing Halo to shift or get his leg caught by the backrest. I decide to leave grilling him for answers until we get back to my place. I push the door open, ready to climb out, but before I do he speaks. “I also want an explanation about my father as well, Alex.”